Be a Beekeeper, Not a Bee Haver

by Erin Baldwin on February 12, 2012

This upcoming summer will be my fifth summer keeping bees. And this summer I am determined to get back to properly working the hives. Spending one summer pregnant and the other adjusting to life with a newborn meant that beekeeping was, to-say-the-least, back of my mind. Now, I am falling into a good rhythm with motherhood and have the energy to devote to tending to the apiary.

The mercury creep up to the fifties mid-day today and the sky was song bird blue, as the usually mild weather continued this winter (if you can even call this winter, a winter). As I drove by the hives today, I noticed the bees out and about enjoying the fresh air. It appears all four hives are alive.

I hope to spend the next few weeks inventorying equipment, painting boxes, and ordering packages bees. If we get another warm day, I might jump into the hive for a quick inspection. Here’s a spring inspection checklist, I thought I would share (source):